Brain-Eating Amoeba Found in Louisiana Water Supply

Officials still say water is safe to drink

A deadly, brain-eating amoeba has been found in the water supply in Louisiana.

The amoeba - Naegleria fowleri - was found in water tested in the Violet and Arabi communities in Louisiana, outside New Orleans.

It is believed to be the first time the parasite has been identified in a US water supply, but health officials say that it is still safe to drink.

The discovery follows the bug-linked deaths last month of an unidentified four-year-old boy from Mississippi and 12-year-old Zachary Reyna from Florida.

Comments

[Dan]

Firstly it's not the first time it's been found in a water supply. Just a couple years ago two people in LA died from it after using neti pots they filled with their tap water.

It is exceedingly rare to find it in a water supply though. It can't survive in adequetly chlorinated water which is the primary reason water supplies are chlorinated in the first place.

This amoeba is not something new. It's been common knowledge since at least the 1940s that it exists in just about every body of fresh water in the world. Infection is rather rare though. It can only enter the body via the nasal passages, so you have to get contaminated water up your nose which is why most infections have occured when people were engaging in water sports. Wakeboarding, water slides, etc where it's quite easy to get water forced into your nasal passages.